Fast forward 14 months, I’m still blogging, Rachel has set up her own business, and for one night only, we would be taking over Make and Meet. The notion of Make and Meet is simple, you take along some crafting, you eat lovely cake, drink cups of tea, and chat. We could have simply ‘co-hosted’ the event, but me and Rachel both like a bit of a crafty challenge. We decided that we would run a workshop, teaching local crafty folk how to make a lovely fabric banner.

Fabric banners are a great project for all levels of crafters. The construction is fairly easy, so you can spend your time focusing on the fun bits, the decorating! Each attendee was given a kit containing instructions, fabric, and some all important confetti. From our personal craft stashes, we also supplied an array of fabric, buttons, ribbons, and general inspiration for people to use.

So much (too much?) choice!

In some ways, the evening was the quietest Make and Meet I have been to yet, the room filled with looks of concentration. However, what I really felt was a strong sense of community, which is what Make and Meet is all about. It genuinely filled me with happiness to see so many people bonding over which fabric, buttons, and fonts to use. It was also interesting to see the different choices that people went for, we had a few people making for the little ones in their lives, but also lots of people making for themselves, which is something I definitely encourage!

Both myself and Rachel were on hand throughout the night to guide our guests through the instructions, demonstrate the sewing gadgets, and generally coach through the entire process. For me, the best bit of the evening was the moment that we attached string as the finishing touch and our guests saw their finished banners for the first time. The smiles were incredible, and you could feel the sense of achievement.

I hope that this isn’t the last time I run an event, as it was genuinely fun! I also appreciated how much effort goes into planning these events, both in the run-up, but also during the evening itself. As someone who usually crafts by myself, it was also great to collaborate with another like-minded creative, and this is something I hope to do more of in the future.